Sector Skills Insights:
Retail
Introduction
The UK Commission is working to transform the UK’s approach to investing in skills to
help secure jobs and growth. Key to our ambition is the need to encourage greater
employer ownership of skills, working to secure long term sustainable partnerships.
This slide pack and accompanying evidence report present the case for more employers in
this sector to invest in the skills of their people. It does so by presenting real-life, skillbased business solutions that have been used by leading employers to tackle the performance
challenges they face and by drawing on examples of the investments being made by the UK
Commission through its investment funds.
There are several determinants of employers’ skills needs and training behaviour including firm
size, strategy and location but it is by sector which the strongest variations appear. Hence this
work focuses on the Retail sector. Slide packs and reports are also available for a number of
other sectors from: www.ukces.org.uk Each of the sectors are important to the economy in
terms of employment, productivity or their future potential.
For information about this slide pack and accompanying report please contact:
Zoey Breuer, [email protected]
Source information can be found in the notes section of each slide
Storyboard
Why retailing is
important to the UK
economy and labour
market today
The performance
challenge:
Improving
management quality
The performance
challenge: raising skills
and investing in the
workforce
The performance
challenge:
Attracting and
retaining talented
individuals
Growth through
skills:
Making best use of
the existing training
infrastructure
Growth through skills:
securing success
through people
management
Benefits to Business:
Securing the future
of the sector
What key skills
challenges are being
faced?
3
What key skills challenges are being faced
overall?
Increasing consumer affluence which has given the consumer wider access to a range of
retailers especially so via the internet, made them increasingly demanding of customer
service, and made them less loyal to particular retailers.
The challenge to retailers is to provide a more enticing retail environment which will attract
and retain customers. Whilst rising to these challenges is not solely a skills issue, skills are a
vital element in improving the competitiveness of retailers.
The sector is dependent upon customer service workers. Given the scale of employment in
the sector, levels of labour turnover, and the projected growth in employment over the
medium-term, the sector needs to attract a large number of people to work in the industry
every year. The provision of training represents a win-win for employers: it improves
the quality of labour available to the retailer, increases the attractiveness of the sector to
would-be recruits, and helps with labour retention.
It is not just about sales and customer service staff. The sector needs a supply of highly
skilled and qualified employees given increasingly sophisticated systems used by manage
supply-chains, logistics, internet shopping, in-store operations, targeted marketing, etc.
Skills lie at the heart of how retailers will respond to product market and
technological developments to ensure that the customer offer is one which continues
to appeal to the shopper, both in the UK and further afield.
4
Retail matters
The sector today
• Employs 2.8 million people (about 10 % of all employment) in almost 300,000 establishments
• Contributes 10% to overall UK GVA and has a turnover of £1,211 billion
• Retail contains some of the largest employers but also a long tail of microemployers - with almost 2x the number of establishments found in other sectors
• Provides initial entry into the labour market for many young people; and is an
important employer of women and people from ethnic minorities
• But, it is a relatively low pay sector with employment sensitive to labour costs
• The UK retail sector is the 3rd largest in the world by sales
(behind the USA and Japan) . The UK leads the world as the most
international retailer.
• Value of overseas shoppers in London alone is around £2bn
p.a. and many retailers in other locations benefit from tourism
• The influence of retail extends beyond the sector: many large
UK retailers also engage in manufacturing own label goods; and
contribute to jobs in other parts of the economy e.g. logistics
• GVA per employee is £24,000 and sits well below both the all
economy average and wholesale and retail figure of £37,000
• Labour productivity is significantly lower than USA, France and
Germany
• The average R&D investment per retail firm in the UK top 1,000
was £15 million.
•
Retail is changing... UK online retail sales grew by 21%, reaching £50 billion in 2009.
The sector today: international markets
Clarks reveals plans for India expansion
The Somerset-based retailer currently has five
CEO of Clarks International, Melissa Potter:
“Among international brands, Hush
stores in
Puppies (managed by Bata) is the
only brand with a strong presence in
the premium segment. This leaves
India and the firm is stepping up its expansion into the emerging
market country. Clarks has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with
Future Group and hopes the complementarity of the group’s
knowledge of the Indian consumer and real-estate know-how, will
see Clarks’ India expansion flourish.
In Tesco’s stores in China,
shoppers can buy pigs heads, chicken feet,
sea cucumbers and turtle. Tesco
announced plans to quadruple
sales in China to £4bn within five
years.
Tesco now offers
graduate traineeships
which include working
abroad through its
Graduates China
programme.
Since 1905, TM Lewin has been sending its shirts
around the world by mail order. Over the years, the
company’s range of work wear became popular in Japan,
Australia, the US and Europe and by 2009 its home
shopping department was shipping to 163
countries around the world.
a huge untapped opportunity
for Clarks."
Asia is shaping up to be the crucial
engine room of growth for the
world's third largest retailer
- already contributing 16 per cent to
Tesco sales and 13 per cent of
profit after just 11 years.
“Mail order has always
been a core part of our
business, and currently
accounts for 15% of our
turnover,”
(Robert Isaac, Director at TM
Lewin)
“Our first store
outside the UK was
in Dublin, followed
by five stores
through our
franchise partner in
Singapore.”6
Retail matters:
Imagine where it could be tomorrow
Retail will continue to provide significant employment over the
medium-term, despite economic downturn.
For the UK to maximise potential gains, need to:
•
continue to implement technical change in all areas of the
business
•
further capture foreign markets
•
capitalise on benefits which flow from technical change (e.g.
using customer data to increasingly target sales)
•
realise the efficiency gains which technical change
potentially provides
•
improve customer care standards, especially in new areas
such as on-line sales
•
ensure that the skills are in place to bring about the above
But there is no “one size fits all” approach
•
Retailers of different types (e.g. the niche retailer, the discounter, the large chains, etc.), in different
sectors of the market (e.g. clothing stores, food stores, etc.) will have a demand for different skill mixes.
•
Particularly important for SMEs to recognise future challenges and opportunities and the implications
for their own business and staff.
•
The sector recognises talent as a source of competitive advantage
•
Firms and individuals invest optimally in their skills
•
Employers collaborate on, lead and own skills solutions to their sector’s performance challenges in
pursuit of mutual gain
Retailing matters:
Imagine where we want to be tomorrow
A future where:
Effective
management of
innovation – the
strategic vision
Improved
organisational
performance
(higher sales,
higher
margins)
Investment in
new retail
processes
Ensuring high
levels of
customer
service
Skills
development to
harness the
potential of
new
innovations
A work
environment
where
employees are
committed
8
Changing place and face of retail
Surviving in today’s value-minded, aggressively-discounted, convenience-focused market
means reappraising how to compete and doing things differently...
Where you can compete and need to focus your efforts is in three core areas:
Experience, Service and Specialism. (Mary Portas, Portas Review 2011)
There is potential for
overseas expansion
and significant sales
growth, including
online sales, for UK
retail over the next five
to ten years
But, SMEs face
increased challenge
from larger retailers
who have incorporated
specialist areas into
their product lines and
offer online retailing.
Retail innovation requires
skills: specialist or
technical, to foster a
culture of innovation,
management and
leadership, and
innovation specific skills especially for SME’s
Retailers need to provide an attractive and competitive offer - the key elements involve:
• offering a variety of goods and services merchandised attractively and innovatively
• effectively marketing the range of goods and services on offer in a consumer market which
emphasises value for money
• maintaining price competitiveness by carefully managing the supply-chain and looking for
efficiency improvements at every stage of that process
• finding a wider variety of channels through which to sell produces (mail order, on-line, instore) and reducing location constraints (e.g. home deliveries from shops)
• improving customer care standards, especially in new areas such as on-line sales
AND,
ensuring that the skills
are in place to bring this about...
The Performance Challenge:
Challenges for Retail
Low carbon agenda
The low carbon agenda
also has implications
for the sector in how it
deals with the fuel
costs associated with
its supply chains,
energy costs within
stores, and how to deal
with packaging of
goods. Again, these
have skill implications.
Demographic Change
Demographic trends
potentially affect both
labour supply and the
customer base.
The ageing of the
population also creates
demands in terms of
what retail services
are delivered (e.g.
home deliveries).
Competition
Multi-channel retailing
allows people to be
more discerning.
Information is often
more readily available
about price and relative
quality to the would-be
customer. Retailers
need to constantly
appraise their customer
offer relative to the
competition.
Globalisation
Already, UK employers
are capturing
international markets,
but retailers based
abroad are penetrating
UK markets, too.
There is evidence that employers in the sector are responding pro-actively to some of these challenges,
for example in innovations in customer service and meeting the challenges of an increasingly global
economy, and that skills demand and utilisation is being effectively managed to meet these challenges.
The persistent performance challenges:
• Management quality
• Attracting and retaining talent
• Investing in workforce skills
• Engaging with the training infrastructure
The performance challenge
Management quality
• Innovation, the accompanying technical skills and understanding, and investment in R&D
required to bring it about, are to be critical to the success of the sector [Case Study]
• Globalisation and operation in international markets will require managerial and leadership skills as
well as language and communication skills.
• Meeting strategic and tactical management skills needs is central to instigate and deliver
change brought about by innovation and globalisation in retail:
•
•
strategic skills to see where the sector is heading and how to get there
tactical skills to ensure that the vision is delivered through effective operational management
Strong management of supply
chain skills is essential.
64% of managers and
professionals are without L4
(39% all sector average)
Replacement demand for
managers, directors and senior
officials in retail expected to be
140,000 (2010-2020) .
For wholesale and retail, skills
shortage vacancies for
managers is 9% compared to
5% for the whole economy
There are concerns that management skills are not being sufficiently
developed in smaller retailers, suggesting a dual approach in needed:
• Higher level qualifications to assist with the transition from shop-floor to
management
• To identify, train and retain those with potential so managers can be
recruited from the shop-floor
Improvements in productivity or efficiency may require new patterns of
work organisation and the adoption of high performance working
practices (e.g. multi-skilling)
• The extent to which the workforce is over-qualified or over-skilled is just
above the whole economy average, suggesting there is further scope to
use and nurture talent
• Evidence from the broader wholesale and retail sector suggests below
average performance on 3 out of 4 of the HPW indicators, these are:
flexible working, task variety and task discretion
Case study – Morrisons
The company
Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest employer. The company already currently
employs around 40,000 16-24 year olds and has 3,500 employees set to
achieve retail Apprenticeships.
The approach
Morrisons has developed its own BSc course with Bradford University
Management School to ensure it is able to capture the high level skills the
company requires. It The three-year earn as you learn programme is a
mix of block learning at the School, distance study, on the job work experience
and work based projects in the food manufacturing division
business. The corporate degree builds on an existing partnership between
the university and Morrisons. The School advises on in-house training
programmes for Morrisons Academy and delivers post graduate training for
middle and senior managers who can go on to MBA study.
"Over 30% of our top management
The benefits
"We've always focused
on training our own”
Norman Pickavance, HR Director, Morrisons said: "We believe it is
started their career on the shop vitally important that industry and education sectors deliver vibrant
new solutions which enable people to keep developing and gaining
floor and
of our operating board qualifications whilst they learn...Our pathways for career
started with us, aged 17. We development see young people progress from shop floor to the top
know it is an approach that gives us a floor, gaining relevant, practical qualifications as they go and the
corporate degree programme is part of that picture...Graduates who
strong culture, a committed
successfully complete the three-year programme should be offered a
workforce and a competitive
permanent role within the business that allows them to progress
edge, going forward."
their career as they choose, whether in food manufacturing or retail."
¼
The performance challenge
Attracting and retaining talent
Currently, the sector can more or less
meet its current demand for skills.
But, looking ahead at
changing demand for skills,
the general trend is towards
people being higher skilled.
(using qualification as a proxy for skills)
Skills will need to keep up with change, and
drive change
•
Substantial investments in new technologies
and premium shopping locations requires
commensurate investments in people
•
Multi-channel retailing in which retailers
operate in a number of different ways
including physical stores, online sales, mailorder and various delivery service
arrangements.
•
Multi-nation retailing creates the challenge of
marketing existing products to new markets
In retail, projected demand for skills is
associated with the need for strong
management, but also the emerging need for:
• Technical skills to support process and
product innovation and technical led
change
• ICT, financial, and marketing skills
(typically in high demand in other sectors)
to optimise the use of technical change
and process
• High quality customer service skills,
including use of product knowledge and
advisory skills, as a result of raised
competition and consumer expectations
And, retailers of different types (e.g.
niche retailer, with different product
markets (e.g. clothing stores, food stores,
etc.) will demand different skill mixes
from individuals and across the firm.
The Performance challenge:
Attracting and retaining talent
The sector has
relatively high
levels of labour
turnover (churn)
The share of the workforce
with higher skills is rising
The share of the workforce with
no qualifications is shrinking
1.9 million job
openings are
anticipated between
2010-2020 or
193,000 per year
The share of people in the sector with higher skills is considerably lower than in the economy in
general and the skills make-up of the sector is set to remain lower than that of the whole economy, BUT
• In 2010, roughly 1 in 8 jobs were held by people qualified to QCF 5 and above; this is anticipated to rise
to 1 in 5 by 2020.
• In addition, it is expected that for sales and customer service occupations, around 565,000 positions
will need to be filled in order to replace workers exiting (2010-2020)
• Any upward shift in demand, and the ongoing issue of replacement demand, has implications for:
attracting, retaining and investing in talent.
Employers report that skills shortages (when recruiting or in current workforce) not only mean an
absence of those skills but also affect existing workers.
• 82% of employer’s reporting retention difficulties said that they create an additional strain on
management because of covering the shortage of staff (79% whole economy).
• 84% of employers who reported hard to fill vacancies reported an impact on the workload of others (82%
whole economy).
Investment in both innovation and people is needed to make the sector a
sector of choice for talented individuals
- supporting the virtuous circle of increased competitiveness, profitability, and improved working conditions
Case study – The Skills Place and Work Zone
Skills infrastructure for retail / local solutions
The Skills Place – Newham provides a unique and flexible recruitment and training service, situated
inside Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
Providing tailored services to candidates, independent stores and restaurants as well as many of the big
names. The Skills Place – Newham is provided in association with Seetec, Westfield, the London Borough of
Newham and the National Skills Academy for Retail. The Skills Place provides:
Training courses:
Apprenticeships
Recruitment
Pre-employment training
One day - specialist customer service
Mary Portas' Masterclasses
Compliance courses e.g. H&S
Courses designed to company needs
At intermediate and advanced levels,
in; retail, customer service, business
admin, team leading, warehouse and
storage, management, IT professional,
IT application specialist and hospitality.
In partnership with Newham
Workplace we provide a
comprehensive recruitment
service from next day starts to
bulk recruitment programmes.
Work Zone works to attract talent to Westfield London.
The project took shape under the name of the WhiteCity Works partnership was formed between Westfield
London, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, JobCentre Plus, Ealing, Hammersmith & West
London College and Tendis. London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham have partnered with Ealing,
Hammersmith & West London College, Job Centre Plus and Westfield London to provide a recruitment
service for retailers to fill their jobs locally.
Support for candidates includes work specific training, advice on interview techniques, work trials and help
with the initial childcare costs for local residents who secure jobs at Westfield London. Work Zone is situated
on site at Westfield London – based in the Shepherd’s Bush library and online.
“working with Jobcentre Plus through the Work Zone was a positive experience, which helped us to target
the Westfield recruitment specifically to local unemployed people…. We were able to fill all 300-400
vacancies for the opening” (Sue Solly, Marks and Spencer, Westfield London)
Case Study – Heathrow Retail Academy
Attracting and nurturing talent
The Problem
A major
A real
Retention
BAA set up Heathrow’s Retail Academy in 2004 to support
difference to
employer
rates amongst
retail businesses who were facing severe challenges in
local skill
delivers
learners on
recruiting and retaining people with the right skills – a
levels - 80%
Academy
accredited
challenge likely to increase with the opening of Terminal 5 in
qualifications to programmes - of learners live
2008 and the continuing development of Heathrow.
far higher
within 5
other
The Approach
than
the
airport
neighbouring
The Retail Academy brings together Heathrow, our retailers
employers and
average.
and a range of service providers, who include training and
boroughs
their staff.
recruitment companies and local charities. It also provides
Awarded a
Heathrow’s retailers with a range of bespoke services to help
attract, retain and develop staff. The ‘Routes to Work’
“Big Tick” for
programme gives businesses the opportunity to access preits employability
screened, work-ready applicants. Continuing development is
programme at the
offered through Intermediate Apprenticeships and Advanced
Business in the
Apprenticeships in: retail, customer service, administration,
Community’s
team leading, management, hospitality and warehousing; plus annual Awards
a Level 5 Diploma in Management.
for Excellence.
The Benefits
Puhalaya Baskaran, apprentice with Travelex. Puhalya first completed her
Routes to Work and other
Academy support initiatives Apprenticeship, followed by an Advanced Apprenticeship, in Customer Service, and has
now completed the Management Advanced Apprenticeship. Her commitment has paid off,
have helped to place
almost 2,000 staff in and Puhalya has now progressed on to the company’s development programme to become
a terminal Manager – as well as a mentor for new learners.
Heathrow’s retail units
since 2004, of which 302 The Academy’s six-monthly employer survey reports:
• 100% of employers value the qualification that their staff are undertaking
were previously
unemployed.
• 88% consider the standards of the programmes fully meet organisational needs.
Performance Challenge
Investment in workforce skills
Could employers do more to keep their business
competitive?
• Learning and development activity suggests they
could.
RETAIL
56
44
WHOLE
ECONOMY
Trainers
59
Non-trainers
41
•
45% of employees in the sector received training in
the previous year is lower than the figure for the
whole economy (53% overall), meaning 55% of
employees in the sector did not receive
training.
Could productivity be higher? Are workforce skills
contributing to low productivity?
• GVA per employee stood at £24K in 2010, well
below the whole economy average, and wholesale
and retail overall.
• Employers reporting skills gaps amongst their
workforce / that staff are not fully proficient in
their role (15% of employers) is above that of the
whole economy (13%), affecting 6% of the
workforce compared to 5% in the whole economy.
Demand for skills at intermediate level and
above is set to increase...
...current skills gaps and lower levels of investment
at L3 and above mean
retail is on the back foot when it comes to
ensuring future skills needs are met
Looking at who receives training now:
• The greatest difference between the sector and the
whole economy is for associate professional and
technical occupations (22.3 per cent received
training in retail compared to 35.3 per cent in the
whole economy).
• In sales and customer service occupations (the
largest occupational group in retail) training was
provided to 18 per cent of employees in the
sector compared to 19.4 per cent of this group in
the whole economy.
Looking at what training is received:
• Retail employers are less likely to train towards
a Level 3 or 4 qualification (L3, 12% of employers
compared with 16% whole economy; and at L4, 5%
of employers compared with 12% whole economy).
For the sector to grow, multi-skilling is
becoming increasingly important The
mix of skills
is key to the flexibility in how they can be used..
Performance Challenge
Investment in workforce skills
Is the quality of training good enough? Evidence suggests it could be a lot better.
• Spend on training for the wholesale and retail sector is has a lower than average spend per
trainee, and per employee
• Of all the wholesale and retail establishments that provided training, only 35% trained staff
towards nationally recognised qualifications, lower than the economy average of 43%
What are the barriers to investing in skills?
• Evidence suggests signals lower than average engagement with external training provision.
Employers in retailing are less likely engage with external training providers than employers in
general: 44 % of retailing establishments had no contact with external providers (29 % average for
all employers).
However, when employers in the sector do engage with external provision their satisfaction rating of
the provision is similar to that for the whole economy.
The sector benefits from a substantial support infrastructure available to employers looking to
develop skills
• Higher Education departments that specialise in retail management
• Apprenticeships provide initial training to people entering the sector
• National Skills Academy for Retail provides advice and guidance to employers and employees
about their training needs
• Investors in People provides a means of managing people development for the benefit of the
company. This sees skills as part of a wider set of HR policies to help attract, retain and effectively
deploy employees
Employers testify to the business benefits of these initiatives
Case Study – Badham Pharmacy
Investors in People offers the opportunity to tackle a wider set of employment issues than training and skills
so that employers can obtain the most from the skills investments they make.
The Company
Badham Pharmacy Ltd has been in operation since October 1940. Today with eight branches in
Cheltenham, Churchdown, Evesham and Bishops’ Cleeve, the chain of retail pharmacies remains
family run. The business employs over 100 staff, both full-time and part-time and has a turnover of
just over £9 million.
The Approach
Badham Pharmacy decided to go for Investors in People accreditation in 1998. It was felt that The
Standard would set a formalised precedent for their employees’ development, especially in terms of
training – a key element to the business’s success. In 1999 the company was a finalist in the British
Business Association Awards for its excellence in training. It was successfully reassessed in 2007.
The Benefits
Since achieving Investors in People recognition, the company has benefited from significant
improvements in employee relations.
“We now have closer contact with our staff and are committed to being more involved with their
development and well-being. This means that all our employees, both retail and ethical, now take a
greater interest in the business – and are more motivated and satisfied in their work.
Badham Pharmacy has also seen a significant increase
in turnover.
“As our staff are happier, they not only provide a better service to our customers, but also are
better able to present the company’s image to customers which ultimately enhances our
organisation’s reputation.” (Jean Badham, Managing Director)
Case study – The National Skills Academy
The Organisation
Whether it is providing information in relation to continuing training to existing staff or information about training
new entrants, the National Skills Academy for Retail provides a national resource for employers and
employees (including the provision of pre-employment courses for those wishing to enter the industry)
Employer involvement is at the heart of the National Skills Academy for Retail’s approach. Big names
such as Debenhams, John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer, Ryman and Boots support this initiative.
The Approach
The National Skills Academy for Retail supports the development of locally managed retail skills shops which
are operated on a day-to-day basis by a partnership of local retailers, developers, training providers and
other stakeholders which together deliver high-quality training and advice. Retail skills shops are onestop, walk-in centres based on high streets and in shopping centres, operated by trained staff who offer
free advice and suggest courses and learning opportunities to retail employers, employees and those seeking
to work in retail. Some operate virtually.
The Benefits
The network of retail skills shops to:
• Provide access to world-class skills and business support for retailers
• Drive for professional, rewarding careers and skills development
• Create a consistent national approach for training and skills
• Attract talented people into the sector
The National Skills Academy can reach out to small employers too, often by bringing them together .
For example, as part of a project in Clitheroe, retailers were invited to apply for free training on how to make
a shop window that grabs customers’ attention and draws them in. Ten retailers attended the training course
conducted by Preston Retail Skills Shop. Over the day attendees learnt how to use creativity and
technical skills to display their products and stores to maximise sales and entertain passers-by.
Investment in workforce skills
Benefits to business
• While output of the retail sector has continued to grow in the face of
the downturn, the ability to capitalise on the recovery will be
enhanced by having access to the right skills.
• For larger employers, a skilled workforce allows them to:
– manage staff retention;
– develop careers for employees;
– acquire new skills as needed to realise arising opportunities;
– grow their business;
– meet and exceed customer expectations.
• Evidence across a number of sectors suggests that employers who
invest in training are more likely to survive than those who don’t .....
• And, what is more, the productivity gains for firms from investing
in training are seen to be higher than the increase in wages
experienced by employees
Whilst, firms in the UK that
don’t invest in training.......
In the
Transport &
Comms sector
are
twice as likely
to fail
In the Retail &
Wholesale
sector are
twice as
Are on
average
twice
as likely to
fail
likely to fail
In the Construction
four times as likely to
fail
In the Hotels & Restaurant sector
are
nine times as likely to fail
In the
Manufacturing
sector are
twice as likely
to fail
Training raises firm
survival and
performance rates
Growth through skills
Securing future success
•
•
Across the sector, raising skills is key to raising performance, but while there is no silver
bullet, a mix of actions which push and pull in the same direction can help.
Employer leadership in the development of solutions and then taking ownership of those
solutions is fundamental to their success and sustainability.
Sources of investment are available to support the implementation of solutions led by
business on behalf of the sector.
•
The Employer Ownership pilots offers all employers in England direct access to up to £250
million of public investment over the next two years to design and deliver their own training
solutions.
•
The Growth and Innovation Fund (£9 million invested so far, £29 million to invest in 2012-13)
gives priority to solutions for the sector e.g.:
•
Employer commitment and investment in Apprenticeships
•
Creation of employer networks to overcome skill problems
•
Employer-backed proposals for other skills solutions such as: management and leadership;
professional standards; high performance work practices incorporating people
development (e.g. Investors in People).
•
Information and business advice is also important as a solution.
Ultimately this is trying to catalyse sustained investment in the development of the sector’s
workforce led by employers which lies at the heart of an enterprising and dynamic nation.
23
Growth through skills
Securing future success
Apprenticeships
Given levels of replacement demands employers need to attract new entrants. Apprenticeships
often prove to be an ideal means of attracting people suited to a career in retail.
•
Research by the University of Warwick demonstrates that employers which invest in
Apprenticeships in the retail sector report that they are able to:
•
attract people ideally suited to a career in retailing
•
shape the learning and attitudes of work of young people, often in their first job, to meet the
needs of the business
•
hold onto people they have trained themselves for longer so reducing labour turnover
•
develop a pool of labour from which they can select people for more supervisory and junior
management positions
•
recoup the costs of their training relatively quickly after the apprentices have completed their
training
It is not surprising that when firms have invested in Apprenticeships they are glowing in their
assessment of them.
“I am a huge fan of Apprenticeships because I have seen what they do for individuals and
what they do for my business. The fact is everyone wins”
(Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO Tesco)
In 2012, the National Apprenticeship Service and SkillsmartRetail launches the Retail
Apprenticeship Training Agency. The programme will make £1,500 available to small &
independent retailers willing to take on 16 to 24 year olds as part of a structured on-the-job
learning programme.
Growth through skills
Securing future success
Growth Review implementation update
• The plan for growth measures to support retail include: support thriving town centres, simplification
of regulation and licenses for businesses, extension of the small business rate relief holiday, and
work to remove regulatory barriers to increase cross-border online retail.
• In addition, Government is working with retailers to ensure that the skills system is fulfilling sector
needs through pre-employment training and encouraging take-up of retail apprenticeships.
Investors in People
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The share of retail establishments accredited to IiP as more or less the same as the average across the
economy as whole. This indicates that there is considerable scope for further engagement with IiP
across the retail sector. Investors in People provides a framework within which employers can develop
their skills strategies in support of their product market strategy. IiP offers the opportunity to tackle a
wider set of employment issues than training and skills so that employers can obtain the most from the
skills investments they make
National Skills academy for Retail
• The main Sector Skills Council for retail is Skillsmart Retail. Skillsmart Retail leads the National Skills
Academy for Retail. The retail skills shops are run through partnerships of local retailers, training
providers, developers and other interested parties. For retailers, the skills shops give advice on training
and business development, as well as Apprenticeships and programmes focussed on particular aspects
of retail, primarily management, customer service and merchandising and replenishment. The National
Skills Academy for Retail also provides short training courses on law and health and safety for retailers
and delivers the Mary Portas Masterclasses designed to give retailers the skills they need to develop
their businesses.
Key messages
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In retail, many future jobs will be in sales and customer service, but the demands
of these jobs are likely to increase as more sophisticated IT systems are
adopted and higher levels of customer service are required
There is strong demand for managers and professionals - this is growing
given the structural changes taking place in the sector (multiple channel retailing,
complex supply chains, moves into foreign markets, the need to drive up
productivity, etc.)
In general, the sector is looking to drive up productivity levels alongside largescale technical change – the skills base needs to be raised to ensure success
in doing this
Labour turnover is an issue for the sector – this negatively affects employers
investments in the skills their workforce and employees are unlikely to make the
investment of time and effort to train without prospects for career progression or
getting something out of training / skills development
By providing training and skills development in the context of an employment
relationship which recognises the importance of career progression, there are
benefits to both employer and employee
Work with employers to transform the UK’s approach to investing in skills of
its people to secure growth and prosperity. More information about the UK
Commission’s investment funds is available here